Making a difference right here in Elkhart County
These stories appear in our recent annual reports and provide a more complete story to the generosity of our community.
Maple City Health Care Center Caring For Community
Grants and Generosity Propel Healthcare Forward Maple City Health Care Center’s growth spurt is being aided by a connection between a landlord, a mayor, and a new executive director. In January 2022, Todd Lederman learned from the television news that the Veterans Administration would be leaving the space he rented to the federal agency. The VA had been there seven years and was promising a 10-year contract when he learned of the surprising change of events. He purchased the medical equipment and was shopping the building to local healthcare agencies, including Maple City Health Care Center, which was going through Read More »
Building Strong Brains is creating a system to help children thrive
Building Strong Brains is focused on helping the youngest members of our community be ready to succeed when they enter kindergarten. The community initiative that launched in November 2022 is taking the long view to get there — both in assessing what we have and directing where we go as a community. “The whole point is to look at this from the systems perspective and align the great work already happening in Elkhart County,” says Kimberly Boynton, the first coalition director for Building Strong Brains. She is employed by the Community Foundation to work in conjunction with Horizon Education Alliance; Read More »
Health education programs in region are producing needed professionals
Every community needs people willing to provide medical care, which requires more specialized education than many other fields. In the South Bend – Elkhart Region, a number of educational institutions have strong nursing programs and the Community Foundation of Elkhart County is helping them expand, as well as associated programs. Three local colleges and universities are expanding offerings so more local students will have opportunities to learn and then serve others in the community. Ivy Tech Community College, South Bend/Elkhart campus Nursing Program Expansion in 2021, $24,554; Dental Lab Capital Project in 2022, $125,000 Ivy Tech Community College had 300 Read More »
Connect in Elkhart County growing and connecting trails
The goal of Connect in Elkhart County is for trails and pathways to spread throughout the county much like a well-tended vine. More than 30 years ago, the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail started as a wild idea and over the last three decades has become one of the county’s most-loved and best-used trails. The former railroad corridor from Goshen to Shipshewana has a trail that is used by several hundred thousand people each year. The final stretch of the trail is being completed this fall, allowing runners, walkers, and bicyclists to traverse the 17-mile trail without riding on county roads south Read More »
Nappanee Art Path fosters community through art
As Khenan Mitchell walks the Nappanee Art Path, the two-year-old picks up pine cones or other natural treasures from the trail that winds past 125 sculptures. If something is out of place, he puts it back. He greets the sculpture of a fox, one of his favorite sculptures. “He knows when he wakes up, he gets some waffles in a cup, and takes a walk in the woods,” says his mother, Kaci, who moved back to her hometown in May 2023 with her son and her husband, Vincent. She never expected to come back to Nappanee from Indianapolis, but returned Read More »
Jimtown Community Center restoration revives beloved building
Bruce Clark looked up toward the rafters in the old gymnasium with a slight smile and a twinkle in his eye. This gym has sat near the corner of county roads 22 and 3 for all of Bruce’s life. A building went up there in the 1920s, but without a gym. “The joke in town was we were the gymless Jimmies,” says Byron Sanders, current superintendent of Baugo Community Schools. Following a fire, the building was saved and the community constructed a gym in 1929 for basketball games, but also choir concerts, pageants, and even the formation of the Baugo Read More »
Betty Chatten quietly grew wealth to share with others
For her 100th birthday party, Betty Chatten wanted three things: pizza, wine, and lots of people. She sported a sparkly pink hat with “100” on the front. Mayor Rod Roberson stopped by Brentwood at Elkhart Independent Living to celebrate a woman who was described as easygoing and kind. She was born January 21, 1920 in Milford, Indiana. During World War II, Betty helped make bandages for soldiers. From 1949 to 1959, she worked for Chatten Motor Sales, which her father Merrill owned, operated, and then sold. She went to work at First National Bank (now KeyBank) and later retired from Read More »
Honoring the life of U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski by helping others
Martha Walorski and Dean Swihart have attended many ceremonies and events honoring their beloved daughter and wife in this past year. People also still walk up to Martha, Jackie’s mother, in the grocery store, give her a hug, and tell her a story about Jackie Walorski, who died tragically in a car crash at age 58 on Aug. 3, 2022. Martha and Dean have sought their own way to honor Jackie’s legacy of faith and service, as well as her love for education. They believe she would want them to get to work helping others even as they honor her. Read More »
Sophie’s Smile inspiring others to give as she grows
Emily Stiglitz sat with her five-month-old daughter, Sophie, in a room at Riley Hospital for Children after an MRI. Sophie had awakened from sedation for the MRI on that day in January 2021. Emily thought the worst was over. A young doctor came into the room and was obviously uncomfortable. He told Emily that the MRI showed a rare brain condition. Emily got her husband, Joe, on the phone since he was waiting downstairs due to COVID restrictions. He told them Sophie’s cerebellum and pons, part of her brainstem, were smaller and underdeveloped. He told them she wouldn’t have normal Read More »
Marly’s Gift
You never know what will result when the phone rings at the Community Foundation of Elkhart County. Marlyn “Marly” Rydson had an idea for a way to honor the woman he loved in a place he loved, and picked up the phone one day in early 2021. Pete McCown, president of the Community Foundation, warmly greeted Marly and learned he wanted to honor Laura, his wife of 59 years, with a donation for a new visitors center at Wellfield Botanic Gardens. Marly encouraged the Community Foundation to also make a donation and then Wellfield’s board and staff could raise more Read More »
